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About this project

This semi-autobiographical game takes
you on a journey through the life of an independent video game developer
struggling to make it in a tough economy. It will take you behind the scenes and
show you a new perspective both on indie gaming and the development that
goes into the games we all love to play.

Main menu

The game itself is a 16-bitrole-playing game that takes place from the early 90's to the present. You are me. You must fight for what you want. You must choose which paths you take. You must upgrade your epic l33t h4x0r gaming skillz. The game will have a similar feel to Chrono Trigger and Secret of Mana. So, in other words, good games. EarthBound is another good example.

Test map

One thing I had to consider was whether to make the game proprietary or open-source. Another was whether to make it a game to buy (and getting all the things I would need for that) or to make it free to play as soon as I had enough funds to make the game. I'll discuss the first topic...uh...first.

Test building with test event

I decided since I support the open-source community, and since I know how hard it is to make a game, I would release it open-source. That way people can learn from it, and so there isn't any DRM to deal with. Also, I don't have to worry about any protections or anything, so I can focus on the game.

Entering battle sequence. Used libpng.

Second, the cost. Initially, I just thought it would be $4.99. However, since this is one of the first games I have developed on my own, it
will be free. This makes it so that nobody has to worry about cost, and everyone can enjoy the game! If you wish to donate after the project is funded, you can, but it is not necessary to play the game. This also makes it so I don't have to worry about getting approval for a payment method, having a separate online secure location, etc.

Test battle. Excuse the placeholder enemy. :)

As a final note, I would like to thank all the people who support me, thanks to everyone for reading this, and above all, everyone follow your dreams! You can do it, you just have to get out there and do it. With a little help if you need it! (Thanks, Kickstarter!)

Test battle actions (don't function properly yet)

Risks and challenges

One challenge is that I have never done an entire game from start to finish. I've only worked on teams. But I think my 10+ years in game design and my experience in many different facets of the development process will be very useful as I begin to work on this game.

Another challenge is my current hardware. I'm running a very dated machine, and it takes me like a day and a half to compile from source, and two or three days to render some maps. I'm doing everything I can at the moment, but I think I will have to buy some upgrades to my computer in order to finish it within a decent time frame. The remaining money will be for a secure, independent, and customizable location for the downloads and all further content. I have decided that my current location has many limitations that need to be surpassed in order to fully explain and display my work in a secure, organized fashion.

The only other thing is the risk. The risk is that I'm a new face in game development, so people don't know me or my work yet, and aren't sure of the value they will get from my games. So for someone to put money into a cause like this would mean I would have to give them a reason. If DRM free, free, open-source games isn't enough, then please donate simply to help someone achieve a personal goal. It would really mean a lot to me.

Your money will be refunded and the project will close like it never happened. We don't want that, so tell all your friends about the project! And don't forget the minimum is $1, but there is no maximum.

Then do the next best thing...share it with everyone you know. Talk, shout, text, call, email, message, IRC, IM, loudspeaker, Facebook, Twitter, snail mail, anything! Also, if you guys like, favorite, rate, comment, and subscribe to my YouTube video that helps me out as well.

DRM is like a safe. You put your valuable things in it. But the thing about DRM is, the safe is always unlocked. So it not only doesn't make it harder to get in to have the safe, it makes the space taken up by the information larger.